Information and Operation Management at Jaguar Land Rover - Case Study Example

OPERATIONS & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT By Location Question Jaguar Land Rover is a big company that boasts of different departments. These departments work together to ensure that the company’s operations run smoothly. Production and Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Business Information Management of JLR combine their efforts to allow the company to manufacture high quality vehicles that will meet the needs of customers. The ‘operations’ of any company is concerned with producing goods or services for consumers. The operations ensure that goods and services are produced while at the same time ensures that resources are managed in an efficient manner (Stevenson & Sum 2009). The functions of the operations are at the center of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and they interact with other duties although they may involve different activities. The functions must work together to realize the objectives of the company. Operation management is not done in isolation, but every decision is entwined with other functions to follow the strategic direction that has been developed by the management (Stevenson & Sum 2009). The Operations function of JLR ensures that raw materials are available to the production process so as to make products that consumers will require. The ‘operations’ also share ideas across the company on how to improve processes and realize savings on the cost. The Department of operations ensures that there is increased efficiency and effective management of safety and environmental matters (Stevenson & Sum 2009). JLR’s business operations managers help different departments in the company to coordinate and meet the objectives of the business. The roles of business operations managers of the company are to negotiate contracts, address budget issues and guide work teams among others. Production and Operations Management is involved in the conversion of inputs into outputs that will meet the needs of clients. The primary role of Production and Operations Management of JLR is to guarantee that the company manufactures the required products, according to the objectives of the company. POM incorporates different tasks that are interdependent. These functions include product, plant, processes, programs, and people (Stevenson & Sum 2009). Some of the problems addressed by Production and Operations Management of the company include scheduling production, management of distribution systems, selecting production facilities location and ensuring that goods and services are of high quality. Jaguar Land Rover’s Supply Chain Management deals with all business activities that involve the purchase of raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution of final products and the management of how goods and services flow. It is mainly concerned with the provision of the right product, at the required time, and at the right place where the customer will access the product. SCM involves the optimization of operations to make best use of speed and efficiency. SCM is realized by a company practically adopting plans to move suppliers and consumers into mutual relationships to have a mutual gain. SCM of JLR ensures that the chain management of a corporation is streamlined to have value for customers and have an advantage over the competitors (Wisner et al. 2015). The department shows efforts by suppliers to have supply chains that are as resourceful and reasonable as possible. Business Information Management involves information planning, control, budgeting, and its use to add value to a company (Mithas et al. 2015). Information Managers of JLR have a role of coordinating and integrating different information handling in a company. BIT involves activities such as formulation of information policy, planning, evaluating and integrating information systems. The company’s BIT involves exploiting Information Technology to enjoy a competitive advantage and integrating information and data. BIT participates in the acquirement of information from different sources, the storage and the dissemination of the information to people or departments that require it, and the eventual archiving or destruction of the same (Mithas et al. 2015). Strategic resonance refers to a situation where a company adopts a certain way of conducting its activities if it conforms to the strategy of the company. For example, JLR will decide to settle for suppliers from Britain if they can prove to be competitive and deliver high-quality products. Every company has its goals that it aims to achieve. The goals can only be achieved if the corporation adopts a certain culture of doing things and avoid influence from other firms. There must be a strategic resonance between the companys objectives and the services offered by suppliers (Wisner et al. 2015). A company can be flexible and adopt strategies of other companies, but it must ensure that its goals and objectives are not diverted. In every business activity that JLR engages in, it ensures that it is of strategic resonant to its goals and objectives. The management of the company advocates for innovation that will catapult the company to the next level. Innovation and technology are the right tools for strategic resonance since it helps a company to look for ways in which its services can be improved (Wisner et al. 2015). Jaguar Land Rover has experienced success in many years since the company has a very competent ‘operations’ department. Its efficient Production and Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Business Information Management departments have boosted the company prosperity. These areas of operations have ensured that the company’s operations are not interrupted and that the company registers success. Question 2 A company needs clear operational performance objectives to guide it as it perfoms its functions. Jaguar Land Rover has outlined its objectives, which every department must adhere to as the company runs its activities. Operations management handles the management of resources that leads to the production of goods and services. These resources comprise people, technology, material, and information. JLR is also involved in community empowerment by supporting education and social amenities. JKL defines its strategy, identifies its operational performance objectives, and then arranges its operating environment to realize its operational performance objectives. The following are the operational performance objectives of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR): speed, quality, dependability, costs, and flexibility (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). Speed Performance: It refers to the rate at which JKL can generate sales quotes and how it can deliver its vehicles. Additionally, speed entails issues such as the time needed to make the products and the period the company requires to make a new product. JKL understands the importance of speed, and that is why the company manufactures and releases its vehicles to the market promptly (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). Quality Performance: Quality performance is conformance to specification, and how well products perform their projected functions. Quality also entails the appeal of the product’s features and its reliability. JKL believes that quality refers to the durability and the degree to which its vehicles are serviced and how consumers think the vehicles meet their needs. The goal of JLR is to create quality vehicles that will sustain road challenges and give customers quality for their money (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). Dependability Performance: The activities of a company are dependable when it delivers products to the customers promptly. Dependability is also measured by the ability of a company’s product o function as intended and to perform over and over again over a logical time. JLR strives to ensure that their vehicles are dependable in the sense that they will meet the purposes for which they were manufactured (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). Costs Performance: Costs performance refers to the variation in unit cost as a result of changes in the volume a company manufactures and products it produces. The cost of every product varies as it affects the prices, running costs and revenue. JLR studies the market before deciding the price of products (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). However, it considers first the cost of manufacturing before considering other factors. Flexibility Performance: Operations of a company are said to be flexible if the company can shape its lines of products to deal with different product requirements. Besides, flexibility is realized if operations of a company can adjust to new faster rates and that a company can manufacture various levels of quality with different design modifications. Flexibility requires companies to adapt their operations to meet new delivery schedules and production levels. JLR can be flexible as demand arises. The company is known for innovation by designing new models of vehicles depending on the request of customers and the worlds trend (Jaguar Land Rover 2013a). The global social responsibility of Jaguar Land Rover is to create opportunities for communities by supporting skills and knowledge for future workers around the globe. JLR will do this by developing skills and talents and advancing knowledge. The company strives to improve performance and cultivate talent by using some of the latest technology. The company will involve its workers in developing communities and respond to global trends since its corporate values are integrity, excellence, understanding, unity, and responsibility. JLR plans to change the life of around 12 million people in the next 15 years through the advancement of knowledge and to change the actions of stakeholders to advance knowledge (Jaguar Land Rover 2013b). They advance knowledge for employees and young people to provide 2 million engineers in 2020 with experience in science, engineering and technology to give a pool of talented people with high skills to meet customer need in future. The company’s global objective is to make different communities live in prosperity by making opportunities for many vulnerable people around the globe. The company’s initiatives have improved health, supported education and development of talent to enhance the abilities of people and offer protection to the environment (Jaguar Land Rover 2013b). Jaguar Land Rover adopted environment and Global responsibility that would run until 2020. The environmental responsibility is associated with sustainable products and business operations that will depend on innovation to give sustainable operational solutions that will allow the environment to benefit. JLR plans to reduce carbon dioxide release and influence product life-cycle. Reduction in the release of carbon dioxide will go a long way to preventing global warming that threatens the earth. Sustainable business operations will be addressed by showing real leadership in operations and supply chain management (Jaguar Land Rover 2013b). A well-organized operations and supply chain management will help the company streamline its activities to meet the needs of customers. Jaguar Land Rover has invested in education so as to promote science, mathematics, and technology. The company’s goal is to advance knowledge for 2 million youth in the next 15 years to allow them to be skilled technologies and engineers that will protect the environment. The company supports education by its Technical Accreditation Scheme that offers student engineers an opportunity to develop the skills needed to face challenges in sustainability. JLR gives talented young people support for them to develop the skills and qualifications that they possess (Jaguar Land Rover 2013b). The main operational performance objectives of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are speed, quality, dependability, costs, and flexibility. The company adheres to these objectives to ensure that customers get efficient services and products they may desire. The company’s involvement in support of different communities has helped many young people acquire skills and knowledge that will help them in life. References Jaguar Land Rover 2013, Company information. Available from http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/media/23076/jlr_company_information.pdf [May 22, 2015] Jaguar Land Rover 2013, Sustainability Report. Available from http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/media/14149/jaguar_land_rover_automotive_plc_annua l_report_2012-2013.pdf [May 22, 2015] Mithas, S, Ramasubbu, N, & Sambamurthy, V 2011, How Information Management Capability Influences Firm Performance. MIS quarterly, 35(1), pp. 237-256. Stevenson, WJ, & Sum, CC 2009, Operations management (Vol. 8), McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston, MA. Wisner, J, Tan, KC, & Leong, G 2015, Principles of supply chain management: a balanced approach, Cengage Learning. Read More